Staged... And carried out his disappearance!
Didn't know about Israel or "Vivian".
More grief for the band when meeting fans as they'll have to put up with random shouts of "HE IZ ISRUAL!! YOJ KNEW!" spoiling the pre-gig/post-gig meets and greets though!

There are so many angles, from the mythology of the 90s that's inextricably linked to the present day band via the first 3 albums. Then there's the alleged disconnect between the family and the modern day MSP (although this is mainly rumour to my knowledge.)

Is this just their chance to put their side forward? And if that were true, it seems odd to have the line in the article about hoping people draw their own conclusions, if they believe the version on the record doesn't stack up against their own.

Intriguing either way.

__________________Countries are just lines drawn in the sand with a stick

I can understand she wants to reclaim the sense of her brother, the person, set against the what must be frequently overwhelming legend of the missing rock star. I wish her well. And I still hope Richey is out there somewhere, and happy.

__________________'Those Manics are great mun ent'it!'| Miyazaki-San, Arigato | POPCORN!"Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter!"| Porco Tunes: soundcloud.com/fdporco| Newest Track *'Crashed'*[Video]“...but the pigs are getting into our garden, and just digging holes, looking for truffles or something…"

There are so many angles, from the mythology of the 90s that's inextricably linked to the present day band via the first 3 albums. Then there's the alleged disconnect between the family and the modern day MSP (although this is mainly rumour to my knowledge.)

Is this just their chance to put their side forward? And if that were true, it seems odd to have the line in the article about hoping people draw their own conclusions, if they believe the version on the record doesn't stack up against their own.

Intriguing either way.

I used to think that this disconnect (nice word for “can’t stand”) was a rumour too, but over the years, it’s become fairly evident that his sister doesn’t particularly like them. I wouldn’t want to speculate why, but there are rumours that Richey allegedly didn’t like the band members very much before he disappeared. Perhaps that has something to do with it. All of this makes me think this book is going to be a bit of a bashing of the remaining members. I mean, I revisited the posts that one of the authors used to make here a few years ago and they’re mostly posts bashing the band. This person is clearly not a fan of the band without Richey. I’m not saying the book will be unfavourable to the Manics, but it’s a possibility and fans should be prepared for that if they choose to read it.

I used to think that this disconnect (nice word for “can’t stand”) was a rumour too, but over the years, it’s become fairly evident that his sister doesn’t particularly like them.

I'll raise you to obvious she's not particularly fond of band members. I think it was around the time she was asking for information about Picturesque and seemed pissed off because they'd used her brother's lyrics and she didn't know. I sensed "quietly seething".

I might be having false memory syndrome here, but somewhere in the archives (old interviews) didn't Rachel say she thought they treated Richey shabbily when he wasn't well? I know his illness took it's toll on the band and I can understand that from both sides - Richey trying to be a part of the band when his mind was elsewhere and the band being relatively young and not knowing how to deal with mental illness.

I do think that Richey was kind of getting his shit together towards the end which has always made me think that maybe he just did decide to sod off because pretending to play a guitar night after night isn't something I'd imagine (only imagine) Richey would want to do when he had other interests. Speculation really gets us nowhere though.

It's an endless nightmare for his sister and her church, resentment, the urge to keep looking for clues is the thing that's keeping her together?

?

It's cute to see some of Richey's things. I can't afford to spend £20 on a book, but I'll camp out at Waterstones and read it with an open mind (filtering out the hairdresser lady and other suspect information). When someone's not around any more it's good to see new old photos etc. Same kind of thing with Cobain...

To end my wall of text, it's quite easy to interpret things into Richey's actions, choice of books he gave as gifts, tattoos, as others have said. I thought of one myself concerning the Circle of Hell tattoo, a really detailed theory, but that's all it is. And, yeah, it's bullshit really.

I'll raise you to obvious she's not particularly fond of band members. I think it was around the time she was asking for information about Picturesque and seemed pissed off because they'd used her brother's lyrics and she didn't know. I sensed "quietly seething".

I might be having false memory syndrome here, but somewhere in the archives (old interviews) didn't Rachel say she thought they treated Richey shabbily when he wasn't well? I know his illness took it's toll on the band and I can understand that from both sides - Richey trying to be a part of the band when his mind was elsewhere and the band being relatively young and not knowing how to deal with mental illness.

I do think that Richey was kind of getting his shit together towards the end which has always made me think that maybe he just did decide to sod off because pretending to play a guitar night after night isn't something I'd imagine (only imagine) Richey would want to do when he had other interests. Speculation really gets us nowhere though.

It's an endless nightmare for his sister and her church, resentment, the urge to keep looking for clues is the thing that's keeping her together?

?

It's cute to see some of Richey's things. I can't afford to spend £20 on a book, but I'll camp out at Waterstones and read it with an open mind (filtering out the hairdresser lady and other suspect information). When someone's not around any more it's good to see new old photos etc. Same kind of thing with Cobain...

To end my wall of text, it's quite easy to interpret things into Richey's actions, choice of books he gave as gifts, tattoos, as others have said. I thought of one myself concerning the Circle of Hell tattoo, a really detailed theory, but that's all it is. And, yeah, it's bullshit really.

Did they use his lyrics for Picturesque? I didn’t know that! He isn’t credited. Is it the “one bread, one milk” line?

Yeah, I’m sure she has her reasons for disliking them and she’s absolutely entitled to her feelings. She’s privy to a world not many, if any, fans have access to so it’s not for any of us to judge, really. As for how the band handled his illness, it does seem that they were unable to be of much help to him when he came out of hospital (I believe they’ve said as much themselves), but, let’s be honest, he really shouldn’t have been on tour so soon after leaving hospital anyway. People with very little experience dealing with mental illness shouldn’t be faulted for not knowing how to cope with it. Assuming that’s the reason for the animosity.

Do you think he had it together before he split? In the interview with the Japanese reporter, he did seem to be a lot more focused, but he was also wearing pajamas.

I’ll likely buy the book for the sole reason that his sister had a lot of input and I’m interested to read her perspective. Beyond that though, I think most of these “theories” are reaching at best. I’m also interested to see what consists of his “archive”. Is it just books and note books? Oh and I’m curious as to when this Jo woman became his girlfriend. Even in his last interview he still maintained that the longest relationship he ever had lasted 4 days when he was younger. He does mention a woman (obviously this Jo person), but he didn’t speak of her in terms of a being in a relationship. Of course, it’s entirely possible he was lying to protect his privacy. I hope he did have some kind of relationship because I always found his inability to find companionship really sad.

If Richey is alive, which I doubt, he clearly doesn’t want anyone to bother him. So why look for him? Give him the respect he deserves (yes, I know that was not a compliment in Archives of Pain but I mean it as one here).

I understand his sister is still distraught and having recently lost both her parents she probably feels even more alone in the world.

(Thinking about it, it might be somewhere on this board that his sister was asking for info). EDIT: Just searched and it was SRH asking about it in 2016.

I wouldn't say he "had it together" before AWOL, but (easy to say in retrospect), it seemed like he knew what he was going to do with his (big, scary word) future. While the majority of the stuff in that article sounds naaah, who knows. To me it isn't a fantastical idea that he decided to make a new life because others do it for a stack of different reasons.

I doubt we'll ever know. If he was found alive he'd be hounded to death (inappropriate wording, but you catch my drift).

Did they use his lyrics for Picturesque? I didn’t know that! He isn’t credited. Is it the “one bread, one milk” line?

Just about the whole thing is a bit of a hodge-podge of his lyrics.

I would like, I would prefer no choice,
Just one bread, one milk, one food for all,
I'm confused I only want one truth,
I really don't mind being lied to,
Don't mind being lied to...
￼

are definitely his, and were recycled for All Is Vanity as

I would prefer no choice
One bread, one milk, one food, that's all
I'm confused, I only want one truth
I really don't mind being lied to

The second verse is also his -

The shadow is, the shadow is a cross okay,
But judgement must, judgement must be willing today,
SIlence is not sacrifice, crucifixion the easy life,
Crucifixion the easy life...

and was reused for (or taken from?) Doors Closing Slowly's chorus,

That shadow is a cross okay
Judgement must willing today
Silence is not sacrifice
Crucifixion is the easy life

The last verse,

The luxury of one more try,
Pretend he'll never need the ugly life,
He'll never lead the ugly life...

was reused for All Is Vanity too -

The luxury of one more dye
Pretend humility, the ugly lie

IIRC, Picturesque was credited to the Manics as a collective, although it was heralded as featuring Richey lyrics at the time. I guess the only bit Nicky contributed was the chorus, which goes with how they often wrote, and which fits with his usual style of repeating a word or phrase.

I mostly share the same thoughts as all of you who posted here so far, but I'd like to add about that part about his sister's will to reclaim him in a way for him to be remembered by his talents, rather than his troubles.

That's something I wish too. For him to be remembered for the things he was good at, rather than for his weaknesses. That seems to be also what he would have wanted for himself too.
But, on the other hand, it is also important to remember his case in order to understand potenial future cases similar to his and, possibly, prevent them.